


Pep Talk

by SummerInAmsterdam



Series: EtNuary [18]
Category: Escape the Night (Web Series), Video Blogging RPF
Genre: Canon Compliant, Cell Phones, Foreshadowing, Friendship, Gen, God bless the Sass Squad, Just before S3 episode 1
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-21
Updated: 2020-01-21
Packaged: 2021-02-27 14:27:12
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,796
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22344820
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SummerInAmsterdam/pseuds/SummerInAmsterdam
Summary: Manny and Nikita have a chat before they get this show on the road.Day 18: Manny Mua
Relationships: The Record Producer | Manny MUA & The Troublemaker | Nikita Dragun, The Savant | Joey Graceffa/Daniel Preda
Series: EtNuary [18]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1589350
Comments: 8
Kudos: 9





	Pep Talk

Once Manny was about ready to get this show on the road, he took one last look in the mirror at his completed “Record Producer” look. He studied himself up and down as he took in his green jumpsuit. He adjusted the chains he was wearing around his neck, and twisted the rings on his fingers. He examined his makeup closely to make sure he got it right.

_ Damn… I look amazing! _

He was absolutely  _ living  _ for this! Not only was he going to travel back in time to save a town by the name of “Everlock” that supposedly disappeared without a trace years ago. He was gonna go back in time, save a town, and look  _ awesome _ while doing it!  There was also the idea of all those other people going with him. Some of them he already knew, others he didn’t. Maybe this would make it more fun. If the cards played out well, he might just return back to 2018 with a whole bunch of new friends!

Not to mention the “saving a town” part. He was so excited to get a chance to be a hero and rescue people from whatever danger they were in. He usually didn't dive into danger like this, but something told him he needed to go. He couldn't just leave a bunch of innocent people in danger! Whoever was putting those townspeople in danger, they were gonna be  _ gagged  _ by the time Manny and the others were done with them!

Speaking of the others, Colleen and Teala were probably almost ready to go by now. He’d agreed to pick them up and carpool with them on the way to this Everlock place not long after they’d all received their letters. And since it was the seventies, Manny went all out and rented a big, orange van. It was like having his own Mystery Machine! That way, they’d have a full-on  Scooby-Doo experience! Maybe the town was being terrorized by a land developer disguised as a monster, they’d unmask the culprit, and the culprit would be all like, “And I would’ve gotten away with it, too! If it weren’t for you meddling kids!”

Gah! He was so excited!

It was a little strange, though. His longtime friend, Joey Graceffa, had been the one to tell them about this place. On one hand, it was a huge relief. After all, the guy had been missing for months, and everyone was worried sick about him. On the other hand, this was the first they’d heard from him since last fall. He’d basically been off the radar since the last time all those YouTubers went missing, and the first thing they’d heard from him was that he needed help saving a town in the past?

Well, either way, that town needed  them. And besides, Manny had missed the hell out of Joey all this time. Manny was more glad that he was still alive than anything, but he was still worried about him. He’d hate to imagine what that poor thing had been through.

But maybe it would be okay. He’d be seeing Joey again in no time. Daniel would be so happy that his boyfriend was alive. Manny promised himself he'd bring Joey back, both for the latter's sake, and Daniel's sake. It was what they deserved.

Before he went out the door, though, he just had to do one last thing. He  _ had  _ to show his outfit to Nikita before he did anything else. Well, that, and he just wanted to talk to her for a bit.

He walked over to his bed where his phone was resting. He knew nothing from the present could come with him, so he had no intention of putting it in his pocket or something. Besides, he already had his gloss in his pocket, and he didn't want anything to happen to it. They had lip gloss in the seventies, so technically _that_ was allowed.

He turned his phone on and opened up the FaceTime app. He entered the name of one of the coolest people in the entire world, hoping she would answer. It occurred to Manny that Nikita might have already left by now and might not have had her phone on her anymore.

To his pleasant surprise, he saw her face on the screen after the second ring.

“Hey, bitch!” she chirped from the phone.

“Oh, my God!” Manny gushed, dramatically putting a hand to his heart at the sight of his friend. “Look at you!”

“Oh, this old thing?”

Nikita held her phone out so Manny could get a better look at her outfit. She was donned in a bit of a revealing pink dress, with a matching pink headband in a beautiful blonde wig. She looked so freaking cool!

“Girl, Daphne is  _ gagging! _ ” Manny told her.

Nikita smiled and put the phone back up to her face so they could see each other again. “What are you talking about? Look at your eye makeup! Let me see the rest of you.”

Manny moved his phone so that Nikita could get a look at his own outfit.

She gasped. “ _Oh, my God!_ ” she squealed. “Well, we know who the pretty one of the group is gonna be.”

Manny laughed. He was so glad Nikita was coming on the mission, too. She was among the people Manny already knew, and he was so excited to be doing this with her! He couldn’t wait to see what she’d do as “The Troublemaker.” He bet she’d kick ass and take names as her title implied, and he was so down to see that!

But then there was the matter of the elephant in the room.

“Sooooo…” Manny muttered. “Joey?”

Nikita’s grin faltered. “Yeah, I know. I mean, I’m glad he’s okay, but this seems a little out of the blue, doesn’t it? I just hope he’s not pushing himself too hard after...”

Joey was Nikita’s friend as much as Manny’s. They’d both been devastated to hear that he’d disappeared in 2016, and when he came back with Eva Gutowski and Oli White, Manny had never felt so relieved in his life. The second time around, he was glad to see Tyler Oakley and Andrea Russet reunited with their families, but he couldn’t imagine what it was like for the other families who would never get to see their children, siblings, or parents ever again. And with Joey missing once more, Manny and Nikita both rode the waves of grief together all over again. Now that Joey was finally back, Manny was honestly _so_ ready to see him again.

“I hope so, too,” Manny said. “But you know Joey - he’s a fighter. He probably wouldn’t be doing this if it wasn’t important to him. The least we can all do is be there to help him.”

“You have a point there. I just hope he hasn’t grown an extra eye while he was gone or something.”

“Or feathers and wings.”

Nikita smirked. “Y’know, maybe Joey would be pretty cool as a three-eyed griffon.”

Manny laughed. “So, how are you feeling about this overall?”

Nikita’s face lit up again. “ _ Ready, _ bitch! We are _so_ gonna crush it when we get to this town! And who knows? Maybe there will be some cute seventies boys there.”

Manny scratched his chin. “ _ Hmmm… _ Cute seventies boys, you say? I’m intrigued!”

“What about you? What are you thinking right now?”

Manny considered that. He’d mostly just been thinking about how he’d see Joey again, and the possibility of saving Everlock. He remembered the letter said that this would be a “dangerous mission,” and he was suddenly feeling apprehensive about it. What kinds of dangers would they  _ really  _ be facing there?

“I mean,” Manny replied. “I don’t really know what to expect, I guess? I’m totally down to help save a town from danger, but, like… who knows what’s gonna happen there? We don’t really know what we’re up against.”

Nikita nodded, listening to every word he was saying like the awesome friend she was. “Manny, listen.” Her voice was suddenly a lot more serious. “I know how you feel. I don’t know what’s gonna happen there either, but whatever happens, we’re in this together. I’m not gonna let anything happen to you. We’re all gonna save that town, come back as heroes, and everything will be totally fine! And if anyone tries anything on you, I’ll kick their ass into the present day!”

Manny smiled. “Well, if that's the case, you should know that I will personally throw someone’s ass into the dirt if they try to mess with  _ you. _ ”

“We’re, like, the ultimate bodyguards, bitch.”

_ That’s my girl, _ Manny thought fondly.

Manny knew Nikita could hold her own, but she was his girl! He hated the thought of someone coming after her, but if what Nikita was saying was true, that wasn’t going to happen. They would both have each other’s backs no matter what. Manny knew they’d both make sure of that.

His phone suddenly let out a little  _ ping! _ and a text from Colleen displayed itself on the top of the screen.

“ _ teala and i are both at my place. we’re ready whenever you are! _ ”

_ That’s my cue, _ Manny thought.

“Okay, girl,” Manny said. “Colleen just texted me. I gotta go get her and Teala. Are you sure you don’t wanna just ride with us? There’s plenty of room.”

“Don't worry about me,” she replied. “I’ve already got my rollerskates.”

Manny chuckled. “You’re seriously gonna _rollerskate_ out of town and into the mountains? Like, all the way there?”

“No! That'd be crazy! I’ll be taking the bus part of the way!”

“Oh, well, anything to not give you as many blisters, I suppose.”

“Of course.”

Manny loved that girl to pieces, but she did the weirdest crap sometimes.

“‘Kay, I’ll see you in a couple hours,” Nikita said as she blew him a kiss. “Love you!”

“Love you, too!”

And they hung up.

As he set his phone back down and left the house, Manny suddenly felt a lot better. Nikita was right, they had this in the  _ bag! _ His excitement for their mission returned at full force!

Manny smiled as he entered his van. He jammed the key into the ignition, gripped the gearshift, and adjusted the mirror ( _ Yep, still lookin’ good! _ ). He then slid a cassette aux adapter into the tape player, turned on a playlist of seventies music, and swiped his gloss one more time for good luck.  _ Now _ he was ready to go! He pulled the gearshift and made his way onto the road.

Manny still wasn’t a hundred percent sure what tonight would have in store for him, but whatever was gonna go down, he was gonna crush it  _ up! _

**Author's Note:**

> Manny is undoubtedly one of my favorite characters from Season 3! He had killer one-liners, a heart that wanted to be good, and was loyal to the very end.


End file.
